Weekend @ ANIME JAM 2014

As mentioned before, アニメJAM also takes at Makuhari Messe 5. Being here the night before for the PriPara & Pretty Rhythm event, the goods and hall layout were quite familiar sight. If you don’t know what アニメJAM is, it’s basically an event that features 6 shows. The shows featured this year was Hanayamata, PriPara, Re:Hamatora, Inou Battle, Trinity Seven , & Wake Up, Girls! Having being a fan of this lineup, it was a no brainer that I should attend this event. Joining me at this event was myself, 7thwraith and Blitzwing.

Note: Some guests are in multiple shows, that will have an effect during the Quiz Corner

Venue

Makuhari Messe 5 is located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba, and is easily accessible from the Kaihin-Makuhari station on the Keiyo Line. This center is the host of the annual Tokyo Game Show, Jump Festa and etc. Flower stands were placed for viewing outside the entrance of hall 5. This remained the same for the other events happening that week, such as PriPara & Pretty Rhythm, アニメJAM and WUG! vs I-1 club. The hall was separated in two sections, the goods and performance.

Note: アニメJAM and WUG! vs I-1 club flower stands were combined

Goods were held on the lower level of Makuhari Messe 5. The goods room was dim and a tad gloomy. Separate queues were organized for event goods and CDs/BDs/media. For AnimeJam and WUG, half the room was dedicated to WUG goods only while the other half was for AnimeJam. The back portion of the room had display areas that corresponded to the shows featured the day. There was also an area to buy BD/DVD to enter the watashikai for Hanayamata and Trinity Seven. Queue lines were long, and it was quite troublesome getting some items. We spent majority our time in here shopping for others.

To get to the performance hall, you had to exit the goods hall and take a short walk outside. The performance hall floor was laid out in 4 blocks (from A to D), with the mainstage set up northern end of the hall. There was a catwalk that was connected to a small middle stage, the hall was set up in a rectangular shaped compared to a portionally shape. Depending what block you were allocated, you could get a decent view of the middle stage and somewhat of the mainstage. There were a total of 3 screens, just incase you were having trouble seeing. Seat layout was quite efficient, but very tight. Someone with a big body build will have a lot of trouble in this layout. There was little space to go all out on calls without intruding the space of others. The crew and camera pit was located at the back of the venue near the entrance, and was not in the way of anyone’s view.

Our seats were located somewhere in the B5 block, seats 94 and 95 iirc. The seats were tightly packed together, and it was quite troublesome getting to them. Having to be located on the other end of the block where the barricade was positioned, I knew we would have little to no room to do calls. Being here the night before, I preferred my C4 block seat, since it was more spacious. From this seat, I think we had a good view of the main stage (from middle to right) and decent view of the center stage. Perhaps 7thwraith had a better view than be due to his stature. Anywho, the event started shortly after and the the crowd was ready to get hyped.

Note: There was a decent amount of people seen wearing WUG/Hanayamata parkas. Even those who didn’t wear parkas also carried naruko (small wooden clappers) along with king blades to cheer for the featured lineup.

First Half Live Corner Setlist

01. Make it／i☆Ris

Having this being the last song from the previous night, it was like deja vu all over again. The i☆Ris girls wore their typical attire that were similar to the PV outfits. Already being familiar with the calls, it was totes of fun doing them again. The crowd was filled with 6 different colours (red, pink, purple, blue, yellow, green), and I rep’d blue for Yuu-chan ofc! As mentioned in another report, the dance for this was quite fun and appealing. i☆Ris and this song definitely grew on me after hearing them a few times.

02. キラキラ ランウェイ／Prism☆Box

I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of this song, even hearing it the second time around. Prism☆Box really do know how to get the crowd pumped up though. Prism☆Box girls wore the same outfit from the previous night, and the crowd was filled with pink. I took it easy on calls since I wasn’t too in to it. However, I don’t want to sound like a broken record but that dance sequence at the end still amazes me.

03. BEAUTIFUL≒SENTENCE／メイガス・トゥー (Hara Yumi, Uchida Aya)

This was so fabulous! Being a fan of both Harami and Ucchi, it was awesome seeing them perform this. BEAUTIFUL≒SENTENCE being a very upbeat, fun and catchy song. The calls for this felt very natural, and I had blast doing them. For me, I really enjoyed Harami’s vocals for this. There’s something about her that made her outshine Ucchi for some reason. However, Ucchi not using her typical singing voice was great too. Both the girls complimented each other, thus making this an amazing performance.

Death. The outfits the girls were wearing were very yabai. Each girl wore similar outfits, with the exception of their skirt colours. Hayamin (blue), Pyon (red), Nanamin (green), and Tane-chan (orange). OVERLAPPERS is just a fun tune in general, the people around us really enjoyed it. As they performed, they slowly started making their way to a giant float. There was a giant float located on each end of the main stage. When they got on the float and started going around the hall, the venue just blew up with cheers. With the seats allocated to us, me and 7thwraith got a fantastic view Hayamin and Tane-chan first, then Pyon and Nanamin as they circled around. Thank you based アニメJAM, I will remember this moment forever.

This also marks the end of the first half of the live corner

Introduction

Being the lazy bum that I am, i did not research who the MC for アニメJAM would be. It was a delight to see Washizaki Takeshi for the MC, as he’s one to poke fun at the guests and make things a lot more enjoyable. The guests shortly appeared on the main stage moments after as Wasshi introduced each show featured at this event. The shows with their respective lineup were introduced in this order: Hanayamata, Re:Hamatora, Trinity Seven, Wake Up, Girls!, Inou Battle and PriPara. The crowd cheered loudly for each show, but it was extremely loud when the Hanayamata girls came out. All you would hear is the sound of narukos being clapped from the audience. This was very neat imo. Having seen the same seiyuus from other events, and seeing others for the first time was a really cool experience. It’s always great to see how the seiyuus interact with each other. After each guest said their introductions, the Quiz Game corner was going to begin.

Allstar Game Corner

This game corner is very similar to Jeopardy. Each show featured at アニメJAM had their own category. Depending on what category you choose, you can select a question that was worth either 10/20/30 pts. If you were to answer the question correctly, the team would be rewarded with a lei (garland). At the end of the game, the losing team would do a punishment game. Keep in mind that some of the challenges only has a slight connection to the corresponding show. As noted above, some of the guests are in multiple shows and cannot be a part of two teams. The teams for this game are as followed:

Each team was given an instrument to use as a “buzzer” to answer the question. Instruments given out were like drums, bell-horns, tambourines and etc. Team Hanayamata was allowed to use their narukos to buzz in. After each team was given their “buzzer”, Wasshi started the game.

Note: Questions might not be in the correct order

The first category was Hanayamata for 20 pts.

Challenge #1: How many times can you clap the naruko in 20 second?

The challengers that would partake in this challenge would be Baum, Kiyono, Rieshon, Yoppi, Pyon and Himitsu. Each contestant was given a naruko and counter by the lovely Kayatan and Minyami before the game started. Baum’s face during this was HILARIOUS, best poker face I ever seen. Each one of them looked hilarious while clapping the naruko. After 20 seconds passed, Wasshi went to each contestant to see check the counter to find the winner. Baum being apart of Hanayamata, I thought she would win hands down. Looks like she ended up with low counter number of 18ish. Kiyono and Myu also had a low counter number as well. Poor Rieshon, she couldn’t figure out how get the counter to work while clapping the naruko and ended up with a 0. Himitsu tried to pull a fast one on Wasshi and said she did 91, but she actually read the counter device upside down. In reality, she only did 16 LOL. Lastly, Pyon has won the challenge with a counter of 39 and was rewarded with a lei.

Team Inou Battle being the winner of the challenge, was allowed to choose the next category. WUG! for 20 pts was selected.

Challenge #2: Sendai is very well known for tan (beef tongue), how do you spell tan in english?

After given the teams time to think, there could only be one winner for this question. In random order, Wasshi visited each team to check their answers. The answers given by each team were way off from the correct answer. Answers given were like tangue, tange, tung and etc. Team WUG! was actually the closest to spelling tongue, they were just missing a letter (tonge). With all the teams having no clue what the answer is, especially Team Hanayamata with the “ぺろぺろ” answer, Wasshi had to do a double take. In my mind, I would have thought Hayamin or Naobou would win this for her team, but it didn’t turn out that way. In the end, WUGchans were able to spell tongue right, and was given leis too.

Note: Apparently Nu was responsible for the ぺろぺろ answer, not Ueshama.

Inou Battle was selected as the next category

Challenge #3: Draw a Schrodinger cat

In this challenge, anyone within the team can draw. All I remember from this was Ueshama surprising me and 7thwraith with her drawing skills. I finally got to witness Ayaneru draw, since she’s one of the best seiyuu artists. Hayamin drew her Freestyle cat LOL, that was the best part of this challenge. Forgot who drew for team PriPara, but they ended drawing a skunk. Don’t quite remember what Emirin and Mayuc drew, but Ueshama won her team points in the end.

This was basically Hayamin’s drawing

Trinity Seven for 20 pts was selected for the next question

Challenge #4: What are the seven colours of the rainbow?

With this being in Trinity Seven’s ball court, Ayaneru quickly buzzed in. She responded with “Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet”, which is indeed the correct answer! Also, to spice things up… the winners get to steal points from another team. team Trinity Seven decided to steal from team Inou Battle. Team Inou Battle started to whine, and Hiyocchi responded with “Be quiet, and give us everything!”. At the end of this question, not only team Inou Battle lost their points, their leis were also transferred over too.

Re:Hamotora for 10 pts was selected for the next question

Challenge #5: Do a cat gesture that poses no hostility

The contestants that would participate in this challenge would be Kayatan, Kaorin, TsuguTsugu, Wataru, Yuu-chan, and Yoppi. All I remember from this was Kaorin doing a really sexy pose. Wataru and TsuguTsugu duking it out, in a funny face contest. Kayatan and Yoppi doing a cute gesture. And Yuu-chan doing a pose that represented a cat being very bloated after eating. In the end Wataru and Yuu-chan won their teams points.

PriPara for 10 pts was selected for the next question

Challenge #6: Since there’s a mascot named Kuma in PriPara, please draw a bear.

Just like the other drawing challenge, you work together as a team or select someone to draw. All I remember from this challenge is Ueshama having a distinct drawing style. It’s kinda unique and raw. I was really impressed with Tane-chan’s drawing, I wasn’t expecting her to draw so well. Ai-chan, Emirin and Miyutan drew something simple and cute, but it wouldn’t win them the points. Wasshi choice Tane-chan’s drawing, and team Inou Battle was able to redeem themselves.

Note: There might be one or two more questions, but I don’t remember anymore

With that being the last challenge in this Allstar Game corner, Wasshi indicated that team WUG! had the lowest points and had to do a punishment game. With アニメJAM being very close to Christmas, a punishment revolving around this holiday would be appropriate. The punishment game involved the WUG! girls to sing a Christmas song in festive clothes on the center stage. Roles of Mother, daughters and dog had to be assigned as well. iirc Ai-chan was the mom, Yoppi and Myu were the daughters and Mayuc was the dog. We all sang “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” briefly together, and it was a great way to end this corner.

Re:Hamotora was chosen yet again

Challenge #7: What fast-food restaurant is this hamburger from?

In this challenge, each was given the same hamburger and had to taste it to guess the correct answer. I distinctly remember the interaction between Nu and Baum. Nu was tasting the burger, but Baum really really wanted some. Nu decided to give her the rest of the burger, and Baum looked like the happiest girl on stage. I also remember the PriPara girls eating the burger super quickly, and it was very messy. The teams on stage established that this hamburger wasn’t from McDonalds and it must have been something else. They also mentioned that this burger came from Lotteria, due to a store being quite close to the venue. In the end multiple teams won, iirc team Re:Hamotora, Trinity Seven and PriPara won.

With Allstar Game corner coming to an end, the Afureko corner begins

Afureko Corner

Only three shows took apart of the アニメJAM reading corner. The shows being PriPara, Inou Battle and Trinity Seven in that order. PriPara’s bit was kinda similar to the one they did the previous night without Itou Kanae. Inou Battle’s bit was mainly about Santa is real and fooling Chifuyu. Chifuyu figured out Santa was not real and did not give her presents for Christmas, but was thankful for Andou and co. for the kindly gesture. I was really impressed with Pyon and Nanamin in this. Lastly, I don’t remember much in Trinity Seven bit. However, it was a great treat to see this godly lineup to take apart of this corner! I really funny to see Ucchi and Naobou act like their respective characters.

With this corner coming to a close, Wasshi introduced the second live corner!

Second Half Live Corner Setlist

05. タチアガレ／Wake Up, Girls!

The main reason I went on this weekender was to see WUG! in action. Having seen this on namas from past events, it was amazing seeing this live. Basically, this was just a sneak preview to the WUG vs I-1 club event that was going to occur later that day. Anyways… タチアガレ is great song with fun calls.

06. 7 Girls War／Wake Up, Girls!

いくぞ! がんばっぺ! Wake Up, Girls! Easily one of the songs I was looking forward too at this event. Just like タチアガレ, WUGchans have performed this on numerous occasions on namas. Being able to see the girls do their stunts and cartwheels was quite glorious too. With 7 Girls War being a multiple colour song, it was nice to see who rep’d who.

07. 花雪／smileY inc.

One of anticipated songs of night for several reasons. There was a large amount of Hanayamata fans in crowd, some of them who wore Tami happis. Baum came out very strong, and was also wore a stylish white dress. Also, Yuuyu played the guitar live too.

Baum is a born performer, and it was fantastic seeing this song live.

08. SHaVaDaVa in AMAZING♪／ユイレヴィ (Murakawa Rie, Sakura Ayane)

This song is absolutely AMAZING. It’s always a treat to see Rieshon and Ayaneru perform together. The girls make such a nice combi; Rieshon always shine better when she’s with someone. With SHaVaDaVa in AMAZING♪ being a denpa song, it really suited the girls personalities. The audience was really excited for this, and so was I. Easily one of the best songs performed that night.

09. Brand New World／ayami

Can’t say I’m a fan of this song… haven’t not seen Re:Hamatora. The song itself was really slow and somewhat mundane imo.

10. You Gotta Love Me／かと*ふく (Kato*Fuku)

Being a fan of かと*ふく in general, this was really exciting to see the duo in action. Emirin and Kaorin really compliment each other, and it really showed during this performance. Also, the girls wore their dress as seen in their PV for this song. Another great song with fun calls. What’s not to like? You gotta love them!

11. ミラクルパラダイス／i☆Ris

Having seen this song performed the previous night, it was still refreshing to see it again. ミラクルパラダイス is a fun and great song, and the girls knew how to get the crowd hyped. The way i☆Ris used the stage efficiently took this performance to another level. The crowd was really into it, as it could be seen in cheers and lights being used.

12. Hikari／Hatano Wataru

To be honest, I really enjoyed this even though hearing this for the first time. Imo, this was way better than “Brand New World” by ayami. Hatano Wataru looked like he was having fun, and it really showed during this performance. Very interesting song, and I wouldn’t mind seeing this live again.

13. Seven Doors／ZAQ

I was really surprised to see ZAQ appear at this event. Seven Doors is very hype song in general, and ZAQ really knew how to get the crowd going. She looked great and very fierce at the sametime. Not sure else what to say… ZAQ IS AWESOME!

14. 花ハ踊レヤいろはにほ／チーム“ハナヤマタ” (Team Hanayamata)

Most anticipated song of the night. Everything about this was spectacular, the girls looked so amazing their outfits! I was mesmerized and astonished that we got to see them do yosakoi dance just like the PV. The calls were very fun, and I kinda wish we brought narukos to cheer them on. I loved everything about this performance, and it was a good way to end the event.

Closing Thoughts

アニメJAM was a great experience, and I’m very thankful for 7thwraith for inviting me to go with him. I was able to see so many seiyuus and artists that I adore was great! Also, witnessing the interactions betweens guests was very hilarious. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see Hiyocchi, Yuzunee and Naobou perform, but it was a fun event regardless. Hopefully, I am able to attend アニメJAM 2015 since it was one of the best events I attended!